White House Expected to Seek Billions in Sandy Aid

The White House is expected
in the coming days to send Congress a multi-billion dollar
request to fund recovery from Superstorm Sandy, which caused an
estimated $71 billion in damages in New York and New Jersey.

WASHINGTON, Nov 27 The White House is expected
in the coming days to send Congress a multi-billion dollar
request to fund recovery from Superstorm Sandy, which caused an
estimated $71 billion in damages in New York and New Jersey.

Congressional aides said there was no clear indication of
the request's size, but some said it would likely be at least
$11 billion.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster relief
fund had access to about $7.8 billion as Sandy slammed the U.S.
East Coast on Oct. 29, causing widespread destruction in coastal
New York and New Jersey.

Lawmakers and analysts also said Congress will need to shore
up the heavily indebted National Flood Insurance Program in the
face of $12 billion in payouts resulting from Sandy, ranked as
the second-worst disaster in U.S. history.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, asked about the
additional Sandy funding request, said: "Well, we can't do
anything with the disaster aid package until we get something
from the White House, and I'm told that will be here as early as
tomorrow or the next day."

A White House official declined to provide any details about
the administration's plans. "We are working closely with our
partners in the states and in Congress, but it's premature to
speculate on specific actions as we work to ensure the governors
have the necessary support," the official said.

Lawmakers from both parties have voiced support for
providing additional disaster relief in Sandy's wake, but a
massive funding request from President Barack Obama could be
disruptive to already tense negotiations over year-end tax hikes
and automatic spending cuts.

"It's bound to be large, and we'll need to scrub it
carefully to determine real needs from wishful requests, which
will take a little time," a senior House Republican aide said of
the funding package.

Representative Chaka Fattah, a Democratic member of the
House Appropriations Committee from Pennsylvania, introduced a
$12 billion emergency disaster relief bill four days after Sandy
hit. No action has been taken on the measure, which is expected
to be superceded by the White House request.

The White House official said that the administration has
already obligated more than $1.9 billion to support Sandy
response and recovery efforts. This includes $960 million in
direct assistance to individuals affected by the storm.

On Monday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state
will need $41.9 billion, including $32.8 billion for relief
costs and damage repairs and another $9.1 billion to mitigate
potential damage from future storms.

New Jersey suffered at least $29.4 billion in overall
losses, Governor Chris Christie said on Friday.

Congress has routinely approved emergency supplemental
appropriations to cope with unanticipated disaster relief costs,
most notably for Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Two weeks after that storm flooded New Orleans, Congress
approved $62.3 billion in disaster appropriations. It added
another $29 billion by Dec. 30 after Hurricanes Rita and Wilma
hit the Gulf Coast, and another $19.3 billion for those storms
by June 2006. Supplemental appropriations for Katrina costs were
still being made as late as 2010.

FLOOD INSURANCE SHORE-UP

Lawmakers are expected to shore up the National Flood
Insurance Program by raising its $20.8 billion borrowing
authority ceiling, since it has a commitment to pay
policyholders hit by Sandy.

The FEMA-run program is essentially the only U.S. flood
insurer for residences.

Putting more money into the program would come months after
Obama signed a law aimed at improving its finances. Congress
bailed out the program after Katrina in 2005, and it is $18
billion in debt.

Senator Tim Johnson, a South Dakota Democrat and chairman of
the Senate Banking Committee, will "closely monitor developments
to make sure that the NFIP is able to meet its obligations and
pay claims to policyholders," a committee aide said.

FEMA has estimated Sandy-related losses of $6 billion to $12
billion. That is far beyond the insurance
program's more than $690 million in cash and $3 billion in
untapped borrowing authority.

A spokeswoman for the White House's Office of Management and
Budget said that as of last week, FEMA had processed 133,461
flood claims from the storm and paid out $302 million.